Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Baffling 2010 Census Boycott

Wed, Sep 30, 2009 at 12:06 PM

For the first time, the decennial census will be distributed in the two languages to 13.5 million households in predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhoods Latino advocates hope the forms will lead to a more accurate count by winning over the trust of immigrants who are often wary of government and may be even more fearful after the recent surge in immigration raids and deportations  Associated Press.
The bilingual forms could have big implications for California which has one of the largest Spanish speaking populations in the United States . The US Census Bureau estimates that one-in-five California residents over the age of five spoke English less than "very well," and that one-in-five speak Spanish at home.

For the first time, the decennial census will be distributed in the two languages to 13.5 million households in predominantly Spanish-speaking neighborhoods Latino advocates hope the forms will lead to a more accurate count by winning over the trust of immigrants who are often wary of government and may be even more fearful after the recent surge in immigration raids and deportations  - Associated Press.

The bilingual forms could have big implications for California which has one of the largest Spanish speaking populations in the United States . The US Census Bureau estimates that one-in-five California residents over the age of five speak English less than "very well," and that one-in-five speak Spanish at home.

Including this new segment of the population in the count could affect the allotment of block grant funding that the state receives. Emergency health care, Medicaid, and public school funding could all be affected. But opposition has come from within the Latino community. The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders and the Mexican American Political Association have been organizing a boycott of the new forms. MAPA president Nativo Lopez told the Univision TV network's "Al Punto" "We're calling for a boycott, asking for non-cooperation with the Census, until there's just and comprehensive immigration reform and legal status for everybody." He told ABC 7 News "it is the height of hypocrisy that the administration on one hand would seek to encourage immigrants to participate when it's convenient for the government and then on the other hand, turn around and deny immigrants benefits, services and rights."

Mark Krikorian, head of the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Immigration Studies, wrote in the National Review Online "I honestly don't understand the logic of it since the more illegal aliens who are counted, the more (illegitimate) representation hard-left elites receive."

Although fears have been voiced that the new information will help authorities in raids the Census Bureau maintains that responses to the survey are strictly confidential and protected by law. Boycott or not, the census questionnaires will be mailed out in March.